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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29478240">under the new lights</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crucified_To_A_Star/pseuds/Crucified_To_A_Star'>Crucified_To_A_Star</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>ATEEZ (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Blow Jobs, Canon Compliant, Drunken Kissing, Falling In Love, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Kissing, M/M, Morning Cuddles, Mutual Pining, Pining, Romance, Unspecified Setting, Wine, but not angsty at all really, could be also be a university au, falling in love with a person youre already in love with but doing it again?, for spice, i love wine aunts seongjoong okay???, just a hint of angst, kind of, wine drunk and in love you can take note of that</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 22:27:12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,279</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29478240</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crucified_To_A_Star/pseuds/Crucified_To_A_Star</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Seonghwa puts up new lights.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Kim Hongjoong/Park Seonghwa</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>105</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>under the new lights</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>hello seongjoong nation i've returned~</p>
<p>i don't normally write things that take place "in the real world", but i made the setting intentionally vague so...it could be canon-inspired or university bunkmates! whatever suits your fancy! </p>
<p>idk if anyone wrote anything based off of this yet, but when seonghwa alerted us that he put up new lights i got suuuuuper into my seongjoong feels in my best friends dm's and i couldn't resist writing it out. it all started with "what if they get wine drunk and cuddle :(" and then became All of This. </p>
<p>ANYWAYS!! i hope you enjoy this piece of fluff!! &lt;3&lt;3</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Seonghwa put up new lights. </p>
<p>It hadn’t initially been anything special, just a small string of bare bulbs dangling behind the privacy sheet that was hung with precise hands. It wasn’t supposed to be anything really- Seonghwa had often liked to use small light decor as mood-setters and ambiance. He had seen this perfectly aesthetic photo online one day of these lights strung throughout a room full of plants and wooden furniture with shiny accents and he thought it looked <em>perfect</em>. </p>
<p>Seonghwa had simply wanted a pretty ambient addition to their new room, everything else feeling chic and tidy. He had bothered Hongjoong twice already about getting some plants for the room, something to decorate the windowsill and maybe some hanging ones. Hongjoong insisted that their schedules were too unpredictable and that killing plants wasn’t his ideal form of entertainment. </p>
<p>They’d settled for two fake potted plants to appease the both. </p>
<p>Most things in their life were like that; compromises, that is. </p>
<p>Seonghwa liked that about them, their ability to compromise. It made life easy to live with someone that you could easily discuss things with and find a solution that was not just middle-ground but satisfied both parties when possible. Seonghwa thought he rarely felt <em>dissatisfied</em> with Hongjoong or the decisions they made together. </p>
<p>The lights, though, had been entirely Seonghwa’s idea. </p>
<p>He hadn’t really thought to run it by Hongjoong before ordering them, the man often gone late into the nights and returning for only the briefest of times. Seonghwa had begun feeling like the room for two was far too empty to be considered such; their room was more of a borrowed and far too large of a space for one plus the ghost that roamed occasionally. </p>
<p>It was when Seonghwa was laying on his back, a book forgotten on his chest (had he even begun reading it?), admiring the lights and the way they swayed with the sheets movement that he was reminded of his roommate. </p>
<p>Hongjoong had been doing better about coming back to their room at reasonable hours, no longer just appirating at witching hour or sneaking in like a thief for breakfast. He was returning before the sun set below the skyline on most nights, leaving after breakfast with a promise of prompt return. Seonghwa wondered what Hongjoong considered <em>prompt</em>, considering his absence left his bed flat and unused often. </p>
<p>Seonghwa still wasn’t used to the space feeling shared again, not borrowed or partially filled or as though he were out of place. It was an odd feeling to have in your own room; feeling out of place in a space that is <em>yours</em> is an unnerving experience, brought on by the lack of a match almost like a single sock. </p>
<p>Seonghwa was adjusting just as much as Hongjoong.</p>
<p>Seonghwa sat up quickly, head almost bumping the top bunk as he heard Hongjoong shuffle inside, the sound of his bag bumping the doorframe and the leather of his jacket creaking completely unmistakable. Seonghwa shuffled awkwardly to the foot of his bed that faced the window and slid out. He was already in his flannel pajamas, toes awkwardly bumping together as he studied his roommates reaction.</p>
<p>Hongjoong’s eyes were stuck to the lights as he kicked the door shut, expression placid if not a bit tired looking. “New lights?” </p>
<p>“Yeah,” Seonghwa responded, fingers curling together and then uncurling only to re-curl. His tongue bumped his teeth and he <em>knew</em> he was waffling but the inability to read Hongjoong’s opinion was making him worry his lip. “I should’ve warned you. They turn off- they won’t be a nuisance, I can turn them off when you’re here or trying to sleep. I just- I thought they were pretty.” </p>
<p>“Can I see them?” Hongjoong asked, interrupting the babbling Seonghwa was preparing for. </p>
<p>Seonghwa didn’t have a habit of spewing half-formed sentence or jumbled thoughts; he was well spoken and typically found communication to be a strong point of his, even if occasionally reserved. Sometimes, however, he was confronted with the undeniable fact that Hongjoong <em>still</em> made him nervous. It wasn’t a nervousness from newity or discomfort, rather the kind that fizzled in his stomach like the time he chugged two cokes back to back because Wooyoung had <em>that kind of influence</em> on him. The nervousness clung to his fingertips and expressed itself through jittery expressions that he hoped looked normal enough to ignore. Seonghwa would get used to it as he got used to Hongjoong’s schedule again and became once again familiarized with his ever-near presence. The nervousness would dull to an aching familiarity that begged for something more substantial than he could claim. </p>
<p>For now, though, he could only bob his head in confirmation and lead the way back to the foot of his bed.</p>
<p>Hongjoong shuffled up behind him, standing too close, standing too distant. Nothing about the space between them was <em>right</em>, Seonghwa thought. It wasn’t befitting of what they had and what they were. He was close enough that Seonghwa could smell the faint leather polish scent that clung to his jacket and the remainder of his cologne from this morning, but far enough that Seonghwa couldn’t feel his warmth. It made his knees ache as he watched the way Hongjoong ducked to look over the lights that shifted slightly with the disruption of the air. </p>
<p>Hongjoong’s freshly dyed brown hair was ruffled with the day and Seonghwa almost reached out to fix it. Almost. </p>
<p>Instead, he watched the smaller stand back up and smile brilliantly at him. Seonghwa’s shoulders sagged as Hongjoong appraised him, “Seonghwa, it’s so cozy. Wait here for just a second.” </p>
<p>Seonghwa obediently did so, watching as Hongjoong rustled through his dresser drawers with soft noises. He admired the shape of his shoulders and the curve of his thighs and the way that his heart ached to bundled him up and hide in his newly warm <em>nest</em>. Seonghwa knew he didn’t rest enough during the days and times he spent at his studio- or <em>wherever</em> he disappeared to during his absences. </p>
<p>Hongjoong made a sharp noise that caught his attention again as he fished a long and thin bottle out of one drawer that Seonghwa knew contained his sleeping shirts. </p>
<p>“I found it!” Hongjoong chirped, socked feet slipping over the floor to reunite with Seonghwa, “Here, take this and climb in. I’ll be back in just a second.”</p>
<p>Hongjoong shed his jacket and tossed it thoughtlessly on his bed before disappearing out of the door without another glance to Seonghwa, as if he knew the man would follow his request without question. Seonghwa proved him correct as he slid back into the comfortable space he had created.</p>
<p>It was warmer in the nest he made than the room, the sheet insulating his warmth and the lights producing just the smallest amount of heat on their own. It was cozy. Seonghwa sat against the headboard as he read the label, mouthing the words. It was mostly in English, some of the words foreign to him not matter how easily the syllables came- words with no meaning, something oddly fitting for the moment he had found himself in. </p>
<p><em>Google</em> said it was a mixed berry red wine; raspberry, blackberry, and cranberry to be specific. It wasn’t quite a dessert wine, but it was sweeter than it was dry and it sounded encouraging to Seonghwa. He didn’t know when or how the other had procured such a treat, but he wasn’t complaining. </p>
<p>Hongjoong’s presence was accompanied by the sound of his voice humming beneath his breath as he shut the door again. The atmosphere was so much lighter than it had been previously now that the gaping space that Hongjoong left in his wake was gone. Seonghwa preferred the room with his company to without.</p>
<p>There was a light tinkling of glass and then the sound of rustling clothes and shifting drawers. Seonghwa didn’t hear him shut his dresser and he would certainly have to fix it in the morning, but he couldn’t complain when Hongjoong reappeared in his sight wearing one of his excessively large white tee shirts. The hem brushed the tops of his bare thighs and his clear rimmed glasses slid down his nose while he climbed into the nest as well. </p>
<p>He was slightly awkward shifting in, carrying glasses and a bottle opener as he attempted to navigate what was now foreign terrain. Seonghwa knew there was a time where this <em>hadn’t</em> been foreign and he missed those days. He often missed <em>Hongjoong</em>.</p>
<p>Hongjoong straddled Seonghwa’s outstretched legs, perching himself on his shins as he handed Seonghwa one stemless wine glass that he took the bottle and worked on opening it without spilling any. He mumbled aimlessly about how he had ordered the wine for some celebration they had had but because of the international shipping it arrived too late. He said he had been saving it and Seonghwa hummed appreciatively in response. Hongjoong’s weight on his legs was comforting, grounding. It felt familiar and nerve tingling all the same. </p>
<p>Seonghwa wondered if being around Hongjoong would ever cease to fill him with such a broad array of emotions. </p>
<p>He hoped not.</p>
<p>When Hongjoong finished opening the bottle he poured them each a half glass and slipped the bottle to the floor underneath the hanging edge of the sheet. Hongjoong offered Seonghwa a toast that Seonghwa accepted with a soft and shaky <em>clink</em>. “To new things.” </p>
<p>Seonghwa wasn’t sure what he meant or why that was his choice of words, but he nodded regardless. “To new things.” </p>
<p>The wine was bitter in the same way all wine was, though it was easy to drink and smooth. The flavor was fruity and just sweet enough to be palatable without the fear of a rancid hangover in response. It made him sigh delightedly, attention on something other than the pretty man in his bed. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Hongjoong knew that neither of the two of the could truly handle their alcohol well, but he thought it was nice to become pleasantly warm off of a single glass of wine. He appreciated the fact that two glasses soothed him into a state where he no longer was concerned about the next day or the previous day or what would happen in an hour. Hongjoong was perfectly content to fall into that state easily and it seemed so was Seonghwa. </p>
<p>The two were working on their third glass, the bottle over half empty, when Hongjoong finally settled himself into the crook of Seonghwa’s body. The taller man tensed for a second before melting around Hongjoong entirely, his arm wrapping underneath and around him in order to keep him there, almost as though he were convinced that he would disappear into nothingness if he didn’t. Hongjoong felt guilt nipping at his spine, knowing he should’ve talked to Hongjoong about it sooner, should’ve came back to him more often. He didn’t let it swallow him, not while they were in the warmth they created.</p>
<p>Seonghwa smelled like soap- something scentless and nondescript- but also with a tinge of the lemon sugar cookie candle he had recently been burning. If Hongjoong leaned close enough to his face he could smell his skincare, but that felt like an intimate detail that left his chest fluttering and warm. </p>
<p>Seonghwa was speaking quietly about the show he had been watching; it sounded interesting, but Hongjoong hadn’t gotten into it yet. He vowed to try. His lips occasionally brushed his wine glass as he brought it up in a rather thoughtful manner and Hongjoong tracked the movement with his eyes. </p>
<p>He could remember the taste of those lips, the plushness of them against his own. He wondered if they were still as sweet as the last time. </p>
<p>He didn’t press. </p>
<p>It had been a while since they called off their…<em>Thing</em>. Hongjoong couldn’t explain what <em>it</em> was, but neither of them ever put a label on it anyways. Everyone else did, but the two of them...They just <em>enjoyed</em> each other until the joy stopped and stress replaced it and they thought it was better to end while it was still <em>good</em>. </p>
<p>Hongjoong didn’t want it to end, though. </p>
<p>He had an inkling Seonghwa didn’t either. </p>
<p>There was a sheet of ice they stood on, however, one that they needed to break to start over. </p>
<p>Neither did.</p>
<p>Instead, they tiptoed carefully and sipped wine and let the world be forgotten as they allowed themselves to enjoy <em>the now</em>. </p>
<p> </p>
<p>Eventually the wine took over and conversations were nullified. Seonghwa watched with warm cheeks and glassy eyes as an equally flushed and teary Hongjoong giggled sweetly at the bouncing lights. He’d discovered if he shifted the sheet they’d send pretty shadows and light beams dancing and for some reason it had become a fascination. </p>
<p>Hongjoong had spent ten minutes -or perhaps thirty? Seonghwa couldn’t recall the proper time- gently bouncing on the bed, making the sheet wave and the lights dance. Each time it sent him into a new wave of giggles that had Seonghwa sighing happily. He looked carefree and content, happy. He looked relaxed. Seonghwa felt like his heart ached at the sight. </p>
<p>Happiness looked good on Hongjoong, but <em>relaxed</em> was where he glowed.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>At some point they began cuddling. Seonghwa had shuffled the glasses to the ground like the responsible man he was as Hongjoong had settled down into the comforter. Seonghwa hadn’t commented on the fact that he wasn’t leaving his bed, but Hongjoong suspected he didn’t mind all that much. </p>
<p>When Seonghwa had slid himself beneath the covers as well, the two had just naturally fallen together, wordlessly. </p>
<p>Comfortably.</p>
<p>Effortlessly. </p>
<p>Hongjoong now had his nose tucked beneath Seonghwa’s chin as the taller man wrapped him in his arms and held him close to his chest. Hongjoong could listen to his heartbeat here, slightly accelerated and soothing. He counted the beats as he drunkenly watched the lights sway with their occasional movements. </p>
<p>“What do you think the future holds, Hwa?” Hongjoong finally asked after a long silence where the two just simply laid together, wrapped in warmth and wine and the feeling of something <em>there</em> but out of reach.</p>
<p>“I’m not sure,” Seonghwa finally answered. His answer was vague, but Hongjoong’s question had been equally so, neither giving in to the weight of what they <em>could</em> have. Seonghwa took a second before he added on, voice softer, more tentative as though he were scared of the cracking ice. “But I want to find out with you.” </p>
<p>“Stop being so sappy.” Hongjoong chastised, the heat in his voice entirely embarrassing as his cheeks filled with warmth from more than the wine. He sighed into Seonghwa’s neck, lips brushing the skin there quietly. Seonghwa’s breathing was even, minute and shallow, despite the erratic heartbeat in Hongjoong’s ear and the thrumming pulse beneath his lips.</p>
<p>“I’m not!” Seonghwa defended lightly after swallowing thickly. Hongjoong tracked the movement with his mouth, the ice slowly spiderwebbing and threatening to send them into the abyss. “I’m telling the truth. I hope to see a lot with you. I hope to see the future with you.”</p>
<p>It shattered. </p>
<p>Hongjoong’s lips found his and in the quiet of their shared room he once again felt <em>whole</em>.</p>
<p>The kiss was soft and slightly sloppy and tasting of wine, but Hongjoong savored every second, every brush, every soft sigh and gracing tongue. Seonghwa tasted like something sweet, something revenant, something he could get lost in for hours. He probably would, he thought; he would allow himself the indulgence of an unpromised forever. He would spend hours worshipping him like this, soft and sweet and gentle all the same.</p>
<p>The kiss was long and sweet and everything about it was all warm blankets and memories they hadn’t even made yet. </p>
<p>There was a future there, something so tangible and so within reach that Hongjoong almost couldn’t imagine not grasping it.</p>
<p>The kiss died off with gentle pecks and left the two contently sedated, sleep coming easily to them under the new lights.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Seonghwa’s first sense to return to him was touch; the feeling of the warm blanket, the <em>too warm</em> blanket; the feeling of another body in his bed, the weight on his legs, the fingers on his thighs; the wetness around his length. </p>
<p>The next to return was sound; he could hear the faint, wet noises muffled by the blanket; the heaviness of his own panting in his ears sounded loud for the morning; the distant noise of someone in the kitchen.</p>
<p>The final to return was sight; blearily, he could watch the mound of the duvet bob with the sensation in his lower half. </p>
<p>He sunk a hand beneath the blanket to gently stroke Hongjoong’s hair where he laid flat and bobbed, sliding the duvet back just enough to be able to watch him as he did so. He looked concentrated: eyes fluttering, pointy nose occasionally bumping his belly, lips wrapped prettily around him while he focused. </p>
<p>Seonghwa’s soft noises were raspy, deep and quaint, encouragement. </p>
<p>It was slow, nothing rushed or hurried or intensely lewd. It was comfortable, as most things between them were, and nice to have someone who knew his body so well taking care of him. Seonghwa shifted his legs to frame his body, knees bent as Hongjoong’s fingers began to grope the back of his thighs. </p>
<p>It was unhurried, unrushed, unintrusive. </p>
<p>It felt almost reverent as Hongjoong appreciated every bit of him while he worked. His hands began to trail softly over his thighs, over his lap, over his belly and his waist. They teased around his pecs and pinched at his nipples and dipped back down his body. Seonghwa sighed and gasped and occasionally mewled through it, just letting him take in every inch. </p>
<p>The entire time Seonghwa’s hands massaged his scalp, fingers pressing gently into the crown, into his nape, sometimes into his neck. He scritched and scratched and massaged and thanked him soundlessly. </p>
<p>It wasn’t long before he came, his warning a diluted call of his name that Hongjoong promptly ignored. </p>
<p>He just swallowed him again, unhurriedly as he let him ride it out with the smallest bucks of his hips and heavy sighs. </p>
<p>When Hongjoong wiggled his way back up, Seonghwa’s hand rode his large shirt up and breached his underwear only to find a collection of sticky and viscous wetness already coating the inside. Hongjoong grinned sheepishly, “The bed.” </p>
<p>Seonghwa nodded belatedly, withdrawing his fingers and licking them thoughtlessly. Hongjoong grunted before dropping a leg on his hips. “Don’t do things like that. It’s sexy and I don’t think we have time for another round this morning.” </p>
<p>Seonghwa shrugged, curling him back into his arms. “Later then. For now you need to shower and I need to change the sheets.” </p>
<p>“You should let me up then.” Hongjoong countered, though his body was entirely lax against his still. Seonghwa kissed his forehead, looking at the lights that they had forgotten to turn on the previous night.</p>
<p>“I should.” He agreed, voice still soft and easy in the morning as he clung to the smaller man. They were unorthodox and this was very much a problem, but when things like <em>this</em> felt so comfortable he couldn’t find it in himself to try and stop. He and Hongjoong would always find their way back to this point, he thought, always fall back <em>here</em>, together. It felt pointless to let him go, <em>wrong</em> even. Seonghwa tugged him closer, held him tighter, watched the lights dance with the movement. He sighed and kissed his head again. “Maybe in five minutes.” </p>
<p>Hongjoong didn’t complain.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>i hope you enjoyed!! :D&lt;3</p>
<p>feel free to follow me on twt <a href="https://twitter.com/MidnightPasses">@MidnightPasses</a> (not a writing acc) or in my <a href="https://curiouscat.me/MidnightPasses?t=156572385">CC</a> !! ^.^&lt;3</p></blockquote></div></div>
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